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Fire alarm and unattended class lands B.C. teacher with 10-day suspension

Okanagan-Skaha School District 67 teacher suspended for 10 days without pay.
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A teacher in Okanagan-Skaha School District 67 received a 10 day suspension for leaving her class unsupervised to hang up signs advertising a school musical production.

It was found that Lori Lea Grant had left the school property because during the time she was gone a fire happened at the school and all students were to evacuate.

According to the BC Teacher Regulation, the school district made a report to the commissioner on Feb. 7 regarding Lori Grant.

It was found that on Jan. 19 Grant was teaching a Planning 10 class and left the school property around 10:25 a.m., without arranging for any supervision during her absence. She took four students to help her, two from the class and two others from the school’s common area during a study block, to help with the signs.

“She did not let school administration know that she was leaving school property, nor did she sign out,” read the report. “Grant also did not ensure that the four students she was with sign out as is required.”

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After hanging signs at an overpass and a second location, Grant returned with the students at 10:55 a.m. During their absence, there had been a fire at the school which required all students to evacuate. Grant was not present to assist calls in evacuating and she did not arrange supervision so that another adult could oversee the evacuation of the class.

Following the fire, the school principal wrote to some teachers about the incident in order to assist with the ongoing investigation into the fire’s cause. The teachers were asked to identify whether they had left their classrooms before the alarm sounded, and if so, how long they were gone.

“Grant was not forthright in her response, advising the principal that she was between her classroom and the drama room; that she did not see anyone in the hallway around the same time of the fire and that all of her students were accounted for,” said the report.

On Feb. 7, the district issued Grant a letter of discipline and suspended her for 10 days (Feb. 12 to 23) without pay.

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Kristi Patton | Editor
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